Took my vegan BF of 11 months here for the first time last night for an early Valentine dinner. He lives in New Braunfels and I'm in San Marcos. That's not our only challenge. Lol! As an omnivore/foodie, these past 11 months eating out with a vegan have been both eye opening and frustrating.
It is pretty difficult for a vegan to get many, if any, decent options at most restaurants. He's used to it and knows how to navigate his way through most menus, but eating out is definitely more frustrating for him than me. We mainly stick to Mediterranean food, which is great! But variety IS the spice of life after all.
So, challenge #1 Parts A & B - find a delicious, REAL sit-down restaurant where he has tons of choices! CHECK! Nori is it!
Part A
CHOICES: You should have seen his face when I told him the whole menu was up for grabs! He asked me 3 times if everything was REALLY vegan. Haha! I included a pic of him studying the menu. So many choices! Yay!!!
Challenge #2 - of the night, I hadn't even started looking for this awesome restaurant until 5 minutes before he was gonna pick me up. Sigh...that's a whole other talk show. So, we walked in to Nori at 5:20 on a Saturday evening. No reservation. I was stressed, because we had show tickets at 7:00. We were seated immediately at the bar. No need to stress...
The restaurant was exceptionally clean. The vibe was perfect for date night. Low lighting, darker decor, but with lots of nice light fixtures, so the restaurant seems to glow with a warm light. Our server was the bartender, Rachel. She was awesome! Impeccable timing. She offered us things quickly, but without making us feel rushed.
Part B
DELICIOUSNESS: Wow! Finally... vegan food that is not bland and doesn't have some funky texture. If you believe that old saying, "People eat with their eyes first..." or something like that, well, your eyes will feast and then the rest of you will follow. I had the agave margarita without the jalapeño. It was delicious! He had his standard Jack & Diet Coke. They do have a full bar, which is something we look for in a restaurant.
We shared the Nigiri Sampler and the California roll. The Nigiri Sampler was so bright and colorful. It looked almost too good to eat. I say that, but I almost lost a finger trying to get a picture before my BF snatched one off the tray! Sheesh! The California Roll had a wonderful, full flavor. It was classic, but had its own unique taste at the same time. The textures were great! The presentation was beautiful! I can't do it justice, but I highly recommend it. It was our favorite dish, but that's like picking your favorite ice cream...all ice cream is great! If I have to pick one, I will. I'm still a huge fan of the other flavors though. Same here. I didn't take a bad bite. Everything was amazing!!!!
We can't wait to go back again. This food was delicious! read more